Head in the Clouds: The Wonder of Machu Picchu

Story and photo and Dennis Hensley

Friday, February 15 - Machu Picchu, Peru

This picture was taken minutes after we arrived at Machu Picchu, The Lost City of the Incas. Just after it was snapped, my battery pooped out. I wanted to throw myself off one of the many picturesque cliffs.  Instead, I decided I could either spend the whole day kicking myself or I be in the moment and take it all in. I chose B.

Machu Picchu was discovered by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911. That's not that long ago, right? Joan Rivers was alive, I think. 

There aren't words to describe the awe of this place, the breathtaking natural beauty, the soothing sense of the divine.   

I also liked that I really felt free to climb around explore. There aren't a million warnings and handrails like you'd see in the lawsuit-happy USA.   

Wandering through the ruins, I wondered how someone like me would have fit into Incan culture, someone who's maybe a little "light in the sandals." My guide, Elizabeth, told me that when Incan men were 18, they took part in three tests: running, archery, and combat. If you failed, you were relegated to a lower class where you'd spend your days weaving garments with the womenfolk. I would have been in that sewing circle so quick...

I carbo-loaded at lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge Orient Express Hotel so I could spend the afternoon hiking up the ancient Incan trail to the Sun Gate at 9,000 feet. This trek was the most amazing part of a most amazing day. 

I kept myself climbing by listening Idina Menzel's remix of "Gorgeous." If that's not the gayest thing that's ever happened in this holy place, then it's surely in the top five.

Story and photo and Dennis Hensley

Friday, February 15 - Machu Picchu, Peru

This picture was taken minutes after we arrived at Machu Picchu, The Lost City of the Incas. Just after it was snapped, my battery pooped out. I wanted to throw myself off one of the many picturesque cliffs.  Instead, I decided I could either spend the whole day kicking myself or I be in the moment and take it all in. I chose B.

Machu Picchu was discovered by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911. That's not that long ago, right? Joan Rivers was alive, I think. 

There aren't words to describe the awe of this place, the breathtaking natural beauty, the soothing sense of the divine.   

I also liked that I really felt free to climb around explore. There aren't a million warnings and handrails like you'd see in the lawsuit-happy USA.   

Wandering through the ruins, I wondered how someone like me would have fit into Incan culture, someone who's maybe a little "light in the sandals." My guide, Elizabeth, told me that when Incan men were 18, they took part in three tests: running, archery, and combat. If you failed, you were relegated to a lower class where you'd spend your days weaving garments with the womenfolk. I would have been in that sewing circle so quick...

I carbo-loaded at lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge Orient Express Hotel so I could spend the afternoon hiking up the ancient Incan trail to the Sun Gate at 9,000 feet. This trek was the most amazing part of a most amazing day. 

I kept myself climbing by listening Idina Menzel's remix of "Gorgeous." If that's not the gayest thing that's ever happened in this holy place, then it's surely in the top five.